Another pick up from the late 90s. I was trying to get into power metal at the time and Helloween’s name kept coming up on message boards and websites, so I gave’em a shot. I also remember WWE wrestler Chris Jericho’s column in the Metal Edge magazine raving about them. Jericho was actually a big enough fan to base his ring name and one of his finishing moves (the Walls of Jericho) on Helloween.

The funny thing is, I picked this album up by mistake. I wasn’t really schooled on Helloween yet. All I knew was that Keeper of the Seven Keys was a two-parter, and I thought Part II was the superior album, but it’s actually Part I that is considered better, if you pay attention to other reviews.

Helloween has done some great songs elsewhere, but I just can’t get into this album. It’s actually pretty bad outside of the really catchy “I Want Out”. I think one major issue I had is I was expecting something heavier and not as keyboard-heavy. This album turned me off to listening to any of their other albums. I’ll stick with the Treasure Chest compilation for my Helloween fix.

Helloween is one of those bands that you might want to give another chance to…..I suggest starting at the beginning with the E.P. and WALLS OF JERICHO and KEEPER Pt.1. They really are a great band, very innovative, one of the premier early Power Metal bands.